Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso continues to be one of the most popular drivers in Formula 1, respected for his incredible skill behind the wheel as much as his determination to win.
While circumstances have prevented him from adding to his tally of 32 victories and 97 podiums in the past few seasons, he has used his increasing experience to frequently extract the maximum from his car and put on a show for the fans.
In 2015, he celebrated his 250th grand prix in F1 and he has now donated an exclusive item from that special occasion for auction on CharityStars.com: the very race suit he wore during that race, signed with his autograph.
The race suit from the 2015 Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, where he finished the race in 11th place, is personalised with his name ‘Alonso’ and the Spanish flag, and is numbered. It has only been used by him: the base of the zipper bears his initials ‘FA’ as well as the suit number and year of manufacture.
A label sewn on the inside of the suit collar certifies that it respects all the standards set by the FIA, motorsport’s governing body. Additionally, the FIA symbol and code are sewn into the back.
The auction will raise funds for Croce Viola, a volunteer ambulance association based in Milan, Italy and founded in 1949.
It provides much-needed emergency services to the entire city but is entirely reliant on the goodwill of 120 volunteers, who give up their time to provide this vital service, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Croce Viola also delivers comprehensive first aid training programs to both the public and to companies, and recently put together an innovative campaign to promote the importance of first aid among primary school children.
One of Croce Viola’s volunteers in his rare evenings of spare time is Pirelli’s head of car racing Mario Isola, who is present at every grand prix. “This is a fantastic prize, and I would really like to urge as many people as possible to bid,” said Isola.
“It’s a great opportunity to own a unique F1 souvenir that will only go up in value, but also to benefit a really deserving charity at the same time. All of us who work at Croce Viola are unpaid volunteers from many different walks of life, and I’m privileged to see for myself how big a difference our intervention can make to peoples’ lives. The only source of income for Croce Viola is charitable donations, and so Fernando was very happy to donate his suit to us in the hope that it could raise some money towards buying a much-needed new ambulance.”
The auction ends on December 14, 2017 at 5:00pm GMT.
For more information and to bid, click here.
